Weymouth’s Paul Carey keeps Beanpot streak alive

Boston College senior right wing Paul Carey was one of three Eagles with two goals apiece Monday night as Boston College rolled over Northeastern, 7-1, in the first round of the Beanpot. BC will play for the championship next Monday against BU, a 3-1 winner over Harvard.

“Oh, yeah, that was a big letdown,” Weymouth’s Paul Carey said, reflecting back on the ruined Super Bowl party in his Boston College dorm room.

Carey watched as the Patriots’ dreams were dashed in Indianapolis – his old stomping grounds from his 2007-08 season in the United States Hockey League with the Indiana Ice.

“I didn’t get to catch any (Colts) games,” Carey said of his time in the Midwest, “but they’re really big football fans out there. And they don’t really like the Pats.”

Sunday was indeed a real bummer for Carey. But Monday was better. That’s because Monday was the Beanpot. And when it comes this annual four-team get-together at TD Garden, BC has become the real giants.

The Eagles actually lost their Beanpot opener in Carey’s freshman season, although he didn’t dress for that one. Since then he’s 6-0. He raised the ’Pot in triumph as a sophomore and junior and will get a chance to make it a hat trick as a senior after the Eagles bludgeoned Northeastern, 7-1, in Monday’s semifinal nightcap.

BC (17-10-1) will square off against arch rival Boston University (17-8-1) in next Monday’s final (7:30 p.m., NESN) at the Garden. Harvard (7-7-9) meets Northeastern (11-12-3) in the 4:30 p.m. consolation game.

The Eagles will be chasing history – no team other than BU has won three straight Beanpots since BC pulled off the trick from 1963-65.

“It’s a great run,” said Carey, who starred at Thayer Academy and Salisbury (Conn.) School. “We don’t pay much attention to the past ... (but) after winning it you kind of feel you have to defend it. There’s a certain amount of pride that comes with that. You want to keep the trophy at your school.”

Entering Monday’s game, Carey’s Beanpot resumé had one glaring omission – no points. He fixed that in style by scoring the first and last goals of BC’s assault, which also featured a pair of shorthanded strikes from junior Steven Whitney.

Carey opened the scoring by taking a drop pass from freshman left wing Johnny Gaudreau and beating Northeastern’s 6-foot-5 goaltender, Chris Rawlings, low to the glove side at 5:14 of the first period. He closed it out with a tip-in at 17:20 of the third against backup netminder Clay Witt. That gave Carey nine goals this season and 36 (to go along with 35 assists) for his 131-game career.

Gaudreau also found the net twice against Northeastern, putting him at 11 goals. Not bad for a 5-8, 150-pound newbie.

Page 2 of 2 - “He’s played fabulous,” said Carey, a 6-1 right wing. “It seems he always digs a little deeper when he’s playing Northeastern because he was almost a Husky, but we got him. He’s got great vision, he works hard and he’s always looking to find his linemates.”

Gaudreau, in turn, said playing with Carey has helped him elevate his game. “I’ve been watching him the past three years,” Gaudreau said. “I’d think, ‘Oh, man, he’s good.’ Getting to play with him is an awesome experience for me. He’s teaching me a lot.”

Carey’s next lesson for the kid might be about what it takes to beat BU in the final. The two programs certainly have been here before – this will be the eighth Eagles-Terriers Beanpot title game since 2000 and the 21st overall. BU leads, 12-8, but the teams have split the last six.

The Eagles own the last laugh, though, having pulled out a 4-3 decision in the 2010 championship game. BC also won last year’s matchup, 3-2 in OT in the first round. So the Terriers no doubt will have revenge on their minds, even though they’ve already won the regular-season series, 2-1, this winter.

“Nothing better,” Carey said of a BC-BU tilt on the second Monday in February. “This place will be rocking next week.”

CRIMSON DENIED AGAIN

BU topped Harvard, 3-1, in the first semifinal, with Wade Megan scoring twice and Matt Nieto adding a goal. That ruined Patrick McNally’s Beanpot debut. The Harvard freshman defenseman from Milton Academy said BU “buried their chances and we didn’t; that was the difference.” Harvard’s top-ranked power play was 1 for 4 with just three shots. McNally, the point man, said BU’s penalty kill “really pressured a lot today, more than we’re used to.” ... Harvard has lost 13 of its last 14 first-round Beanpot games ... Northeastern first-year coach Jim Madigan, who lives in Milton, said his team “got schooled” by BC, which doubled up the Huskies in shots, 46-23. BC is 4-0 against Northeastern this season, but the first three games were each decided by a goal ... Northeastern had two Ledgerland products in the lineup – sophomore left wing Rob Dongara (Scituate) and freshman defenseman Dan Cornell (Abington). Dongara scored in last year’s final – a 7-6 OT loss to BC.